Roster Improvement: One Way of Looking at It

[Ghost Writer]

When evaluating the front office's job of improving the roster for 2007-08, you can look at it from a cumulative standpoint.

The Spurs lost the following players from last year's championship roster:

J. Butler
M. Ely
B. Udrih
J. White

And have replaced them with:

K. Thomas
I. Mahinmi
I. Udoku
D. Stoudamire

The big thing to note it that none of the four players from before figured into the 2006-07 playoffs, yet 3 of the 4 replacements all will be part of this year's playoff rotation.

Basically, the Spurs got better and deeper, no matter how you cut it.

[Solid D]

F. Elson was in last year's group, also. He averaged 10 mpg in the playoffs.

[TwoHandJam]

Udoku?

Someone's been playing too much Sudoku.

[Ghost Writer]

How could I forget Elson?

Udoku™ is my patented misspelling.

When you look at the big picture, the Spurs really improved and best of all, without really giving up much.

[barbacoataco]

Agree with this post. When you look at what the Suns and Mavs did, the difference is obvious. They both made trades where they gave up IMPORTANT parts of their team's success. Marion to the Suns was a key player on defense more than many fans realize. They traded him away without replacing him. The Mavs got a legend point guard, but to do it they gave away two key players to beating their Conference rival, one of them (Harris) young and with potential.

It is much better to get something without giving anything up, than to make an "even" trade, which solves one problem and creates another.

[samikeyp]

Udoku?

Someone's been playing too much Sudoku.

Its ok, on SportsCenter this morning it was pronounced "Yime Udoko" :)

[nkdlunch]

why can't anyone spell udoka's name right??? :bang

[samikeyp]

I should have clarified....they pronounced it "Udoko" not spelled it. I edited accordingly.

Still, "Udoka" seems pretty easy to say. :)

[Ghost Writer]

Pop needs to figure out how to ration the minutes, because holdovers from last year will be supplanted in the playoff rotation by K. Thomas, Udoku™ and Stoudamire.

Sorry (Bonner), Vaughn and to a degree, Horry and Barry.

[FromWayDowntown]

Ime Udoka is about the most efficient use of all 5 vowels without repetition in one name in the history of mankind.

[wildbill2u]

Ime Okeydokey!

[nfg3]

Agreed. Upgraded on the cheap. That's the FO's MO.

[intlspurshk]

That's also mean failure for FO to sign suitable Free Agents, looking from another angle. JB, Elson, Bonner, etc and they need to wait till their contracts running to the last year for corrections, at the cost of additional picks.

[m33p0]

great impact for minimal potential for disaster. great job.

[genomefreak13]

Just to add, Aside from getting deeper - the return of Barry made the roster more flexible in the the 3,2 and 1 spot. Now we can play the following lineups to counter the other teams:

Bigman lineup:

5 Thomas
4 Duncan
3 Horry
2 Finley/Ginobili
1 Barry

Big/Fast lineup

5 Oberto
4 Duncan
3 Bowen/ Udoka
2 Ginobili/ Finley
1 Barry

Big/Defensive lineup

5 Thomas
4 Duncan
3 Bowen/ Udoka
2 Ginobli
1 Barry /vaughn


Small/fast lineup

5 Duncan
4 Bowen
3 Barry/Udoka
2 Ginobili
1 Parker / stoudamire

Small/defensive lineup

5 Duncan
4 Bowen
3 Udoka
2 Ginobili
1 Barry/ vaughn

3pt lineup

5 Duncan
4 Horry/ Bonner
3 Barry / Ginobili
2 Finley
1 Parker/ Stoudamire

[Ghost Writer]

I wonder what 8 players that Pop will go to most in the playoffs?

PF Duncan
SF Bowen
C Oberto
PG Parker
SG Finley

SG/PG Ginobili
PF/C Thomas
SG/SF Barry

Don't be surprised in pressure moments if Pop prefers to go to Ginobili or Barry handling the ball over Stoudamire and Vaughn. In addition, I wonder in a big spot, if Pop will remember Horry and also if he'll turn to Finley or Barry.

Down by 3 with 2 minutes left:

PF Duncan
SF Finley (Barry?)
C Horry
PG Parker
SG Ginobili

Thoughts.

[oboymeetsogirl]

Sounds about right, Ghost Writer. In the final two minutes it would probably be Finley in there, although I'm betting Barry will be putting in heavy minutes at the end of third and early fourth quarters if we need to spread the floor. Udoka instead of Barry if the game is in control.

Horry, I'm not sure about this year. That's why Thomas was brought in. I think of him as probably being Oberto's backup when a wily, tough, big vet is needed. I lived in Southern Cal during the Lakers' last glory days (and so watched nearly every one of their games); and this year, more than ever, I'm looking at Big Shot as being a far cry from what he used to be. I mean, even his Airness failed to deliver during his last two years.

Pop loves Horry's smarts in the end of games when everything is on the line, and there's absolutely no room for error. Irreplaceable. But if Bob's rainbow shots aren't landing anywhere near the rim, I can see the Spurs, for the first time in recent years, going with Oberto or Thomas alongside Timmy in the last few seconds of the games that count.

[ClingingMars]

Horry is just waiting for the playoffs. Just give him a chance come April.

-Mars

[1Parker1]

Udoku?

Someone's been playing too much Sudoku.


:lol

[jag]

Ime Udoka is about the most efficient use of all 5 vowels without repetition in one name in the history of mankind.

:lmao

:toast

[WalterBenitez]

I think this year rotation will go with 10, closing to 6/7 in 4th quarter...

[Russ]

They just got older that's all. Maybe one more run max.
-- The Media

[nbafan13az]

Just Horrible You Guys Added No Real Players To Your Roster Their All Beyond Pathatic

[xmas1997]

I think the rotation will be a lot larger this year simply because we have lots of older Vets on this team who need rest between games in order to win.

[ShoogarBear]

Ime Udoka is about the most efficient use of all 5 vowels without repetition in one name in the history of mankind.Auerlio (Rodriguez).

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Just Horrible You Guys Added No Real Players To Your Roster Their All Beyond Pathatic
Calm down pinky.
And learn to spellcheck too.

[ClingingMars]

Just Horrible You Guys Added No Real Players To Your Roster Their All Beyond Pathatic

at least we didn't steal a potential HOF.

-Mars

[genomefreak13]

I wonder what 8 players that Pop will go to most in the playoffs?

PF Duncan
SF Bowen
C Oberto
PG Parker
SG Finley

SG/PG Ginobili
PF/C Thomas
SG/SF Barry

Don't be surprised in pressure moments if Pop prefers to go to Ginobili or Barry handling the ball over Stoudamire and Vaughn. In addition, I wonder in a big spot, if Pop will remember Horry and also if he'll turn to Finley or Barry.



In my humble opinion this would be Pop's 8 man lineup

PF Duncan
SF Bowen
C Oberto
PG Parker
SG Finley

SG/PG Ginobili
PF/C Thomas
PF/SF Horry

Horry's time is Playoff time. This is when he earns his big money. He will surely be relied upon by the spurs during the whole playoffs.

I've always believe that Barry's place with the spurs is MOST CRUCIAL during the regular seasons (not the playoffs). He's a great reliever for Manu, Finley and Parker. He lessens the wear and tear of the regular seasons on the key players of the spurs. Come playoff-time his playing time will be lessened unless there's an injury among the starters or if he's really waxing hot in his jumpshots.

last 2 minutes the best playoff 5 will play...

PF Horry
SF Bowen
C Duncan
PG Parker
SG Ginobili

[SpursFanFirst]

Ime Udoka is about the most efficient use of all 5 vowels without repetition in one name in the history of mankind.

:lol
Bonus points if his middle name contains a "y"

[Ghost Writer]

In my humble opinion this would be Pop's 8 man lineup

PF Duncan
SF Bowen
C Oberto
PG Parker
SG Finley

SG/PG Ginobili
PF/C Thomas
PF/SF Horry

Horry's time is Playoff time. This is when he earns his big money. He will surely be relied upon by the spurs during the whole playoffs.

I've always believe that Barry's place with the spurs is MOST CRUCIAL during the regular seasons (not the playoffs). He's a great reliever for Manu, Finley and Parker. He lessens the wear and tear of the regular seasons on the key players of the spurs. Come playoff-time his playing time will be lessened unless there's an injury among the starters or if he's really waxing hot in his jumpshots.

last 2 minutes the best playoff 5 will play...

PF Horry
SF Bowen
C Duncan
PG Parker
SG Ginobili
I tend to agree about Horry to a degree. I don't see him getting major minutes in the playoffs, but he will be on the floor in the closing minutes.

Bowen will most certainly not be out there.

It's interesting that we both do not see either prototypical backup PG (Stoudamire or Vaughn) figuring in to the Spurs playoff rotation with significant minutes.

That's why I think that Barry will be called upon to handle the ball.

And I guarantee you that Barry will have one (1) huge shot in these playoffs.

When a player is traded, waived and decides to come back home, that just begs for a storybook moment in the playoffs.

[genomefreak13]

And I guarantee you that Barry will have one (1) huge shot in these playoffs.

When a player is traded, waived and decides to come back home, that just begs for a storybook moment in the playoffs.

I agree. I also do hope that he makes it during the finals, one that would give a dramatic ending to the spurs quest for a REPEAT championship.

The amount of playing time of Damon and vaughn would probably depend on the opponent we face. If the playoffs would start today, we would probably be facing the golden state warriors in the first round. Considering the speed and Physical play of their guards, I think it's proper to consider using Vaughn for defensive purposes (and to relieve parkers of some fouls). I think the same rule should apply if we go against the Phoenix Suns .

Damon on the other hand could be used to maintain a fast tempo game. If we play a team like Houston or the Jazz we can use him to our advantage (given of course that Pop's want us to run with them). Aside from those situations, I think it's better off to use Barry extensively against teams like NO, Dallas, Lakers. Barry will be good defensively against Kidd, Fisher and Paul - he is long enough to cover the passing lanes and fast enough to stay in front of them.

[SAGambler]

Horry is just waiting for the playoffs. Just give him a chance come April.

-Mars

And I'm just waiting to hit the megalottery. Sorry, but I don't think Big Shot Rob has much left.

He has provided us with some tremendous moments, but alas, every good thing must come to an end.

And whatever you do Pop....keep Vaughn off the floor.